FAQ
What are the tasks of the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR)?
What data does the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR) collect?
The BCR collects data related to new cancer diagnoses, as well as test results within the framework of population screenings.
The BCR collaborates with various Belgian centers that diagnose cancers and are legally obliged to register all new cancer diagnoses. Additionally, the BCR maintains a central cyto-histopathological register, for which it receives certain test results from Belgian laboratories for pathological anatomy in the context of early detection of breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer. In the course of these tasks, the BCR may process your personal data as a patient or as a healthcare provider. This is always done with particular attention to your privacy.
How secure is my data with the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR)?
The BCR strives for the highest possible level of data security.
Therefore, we take the necessary and appropriate measures to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or unauthorized destruction of your personal data, and to avoid storing personal data longer than necessary to achieve the purpose for which they were collected. In the course of its tasks, the BCR may process your personal data as a patient or as a healthcare provider. Read more about this on our privacy page.
Does the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR) organize population screenings for cancer?
The BCR supports the regional governments and the screening organizations per region in the organization, follow-up, and evaluation of the population screenings but does not organize them itself. Read more about this on our screening page.
Does the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR) conduct cancer research?
Yes, the BCR conducts its own research. The BCR is active in three pillars of research.
- Research in its own name:
The BCR studies cancer using national databases that are collected in collaboration with hospitals, laboratories, and health insurance funds.
- Research in collaboration with others:
The BCR conducts research in close cooperation with funding bodies and stakeholders such as Sciensano, universities, and organizations like Kom op tegen Kanker and Stichting tegen Kanker.
- Research through data provision:
The BCR makes data available to facilitate research projects. Organizations can request specific datasets for policy support or research. More information about requesting BCR data can be found on our data request page.
How do the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR), Stichting tegen Kanker, and Kom op tegen Kanker relate to each other?
BCR, Stichting tegen Kanker, and Kom op tegen Kanker join forces in the fight against cancer.
BCR has the legal duty to collect, complete, validate, analyze, make accessible, and simultaneously protect cancer data in Belgium.
Stichting tegen Kanker, as the national organization for the fight against cancer, provides funding for research teams through its fundraising efforts, including structural support to BCR. The organization is also committed to supporting patients and their families, as well as cancer detection and prevention. Lastly, Stichting tegen Kanker aims to make research results understandable to the general public.
Kom op tegen Kanker provides financial support for scientific research and care projects through fundraising, including structural support to BCR. The organization advocates for the rights of (ex-)patients to the best treatment and care, the right of people to a healthy living environment, and seeks to prevent and detect cancer earlier through awareness campaigns.